Paul Revere Run: Making scenic memories

July 14, 2008|By Christina Rohn News-Review Staff Writer

Out of all the races I've run in, I'd have to say that the 34th annual Paul Revere 10-mile Run July 4 in Harbor Springs was the most scenic.

Before arriving at the race at 7:45 a.m., my morning had already gotten off to a shaky start - my legs were sore from biking to Charlevoix and back with a friend the night before, and I had stayed up late to watch the Bay Harbor fireworks.

All-in-all I was running on about two-and-a-half hours of sleep when I began the 10-mile run.

In the rush of getting to registration on time, getting my number pinned to my shirt and finding the start line, I forgot to grab my CamelBak in my car.

I figured this wouldn't affect anything, since they'd have several watering stations along the route which paralleled Little Traverse Bay. I was wrong - it did.

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After the first two miles the sun was beating on my face and my mouth was drier than the Sahara Desert - OK, so that might be an exaggeration, but it's close.

While I was running, I found myself looking far ahead to the other runners to see if they were grouped together, which would signal the first watering station.

It didn't take long - although to me it felt like an eternity - to reach the first station. After this, however, it was smooth sailing, and the stations seemed to be closer together - how refreshing!

Everytime I reached a volunteer handing out Dixie cups filled to the brim with chilled liquid perfection, I would take a couple sips, then pour the ice-cold water over my face. That was a great tactic for keeping myself wide awake.

Around the 8-mile mark I was definitely feeling exhausted from the lack of sleep I'd gotten the night before. I started to run out of steam and needed nourishment fast, but there was nothing I could do until I reached the finish line.

Several runners around me were feeling the strain toward the end of the run and began to stop and walk. I just kept right on chugging, putting one foot in front of the other, bound and determined to make my merry little way to the finish.

As I neared the banner signaling the finish, I noticed that my time was 1:33:00, so I was averaging around a 9-minute mile. Not bad, but still no where near where I need to be in training to qualify for the Boston Marathon when I run the Detroit Marathon in October.

I've come to the conclusion that it could take me years to get to that level - the Boston elite - and although my goal was to qualify in Detroit this go around, I've decided that however long it does take me, I'm going to have fun and enjoy myself every step of the way.

Again, a big thank you to Gow Litzenburger for inviting me to participate in the Paul Revere Run. It was worth every ache and pain the next day, and hopefully a significant amount of money was raised to benefit the Harbor Springs High School Cross Country team.